Aquisição de alimentos em restaurante institucional sob a ótica nutricional e sustentável: estudo de caso

Abstract

Considering the current food production scenario and its repercussions on climate change, institutional restaurants should promote actions to reduce negative environmental impacts caused by the production of meals, in addition to ensuring healthy foodsupply. This study aims to characterize and evaluate the acquisition of food in an institutional restaurant of a public university from a nutritional and sustainable perspective. The presence of critical nutrients and the processing level of food purchased during a period of two months were evaluated. Of the 118 foods purchased, 55.1% were classified as fresh or minimally processed and 32.2% as ultra-processed. Regarding the excess of critical nutrients, all groups, with the exception of legumes, presented at least three undesirable parameters, with sodium, total fats and free sugar being the most recurrent. Individually, sodium was the excess nutrient most found among food groups, followed by saturated fats. Trans fats (8.2%) were identified only in the cereal group. The stage of choosing the foods that will be used in the production of meals for communities is of fundamental importance to ensure the provision of healthy and sustainable food. The results of this study signal the importance of rethinking the process of purchasing food in public institutions in order to contemplate aspects of sustainable nutrition